Tigers await clash with Eagles
IMPERIAL — Heading into Friday’s Game of the Week, the football team from Imperial High School is in a must-win situation if its hopes to capture at least a share of this year’s Imperial Valley League title.
Imperial has finished at the top or in the No. 2 spot of the IVL standings every year since 2011, yet goes into the annual Johnny Romero Fireman’s Helmet Game with an IVL record of 1-1.
The Tigers are coming off a stunning 24-21 double-overtime loss to Central Union High School, while Southwest High School goes in with a 2-0 mark and is no doubt still riding the wave of defeating last year’s IVL-titleholder, Brawley Union High School, 20-12 last week.
Since its establishment in 2009, the Helmet Game has traditionally favored Imperial, who has a six-game win streak over the Eagles in the annual matchup.
The Helmet hasn’t returned to Southwest since 2010, yet nearly did so last season before a last-minute score that gave the Tigers the 28-21 victory.
A win over Imperial on Friday night would not only give the 7-0 Eagles the satisfaction of hoisting the Helmet once more, it would also give the team a clear path to the IVL crown, yet standing in their way is an Imperial team eager to prove itself and show its better than it played last week.
Imperial High
The Imperial High football team has all the components of an IVL-championship caliber team, yet has struggled to put the three phases of its game together in certain matchups.
Against Central, the offense and special teams struggled, while the defense kept the game close totaling nine sacks and two interceptions, one that resulted in a return for a 90-yard touchdown.
Imperial is working to ensure everything comes together on Friday in a game with league and CIF implications as the Tigers and Eagles will both compete in the Div. III playoffs next month.
“It’s been really energetic out here,” said Nathan Hart of the Tigers’ practices this week. “Everyone has been really enthusiastic and we’re just ready and looking forward to Friday pretty much.”
Like other teams around the league, the Tigers have a variety of offensive and tools at their disposal to keep the Southwest defense on its toes.
Senior running back Brandon Hueso heads into the game with nearly 900 rushing yards and eight rushing scores, while Joey Ramos and Santiago De La Torre have a combined 12 receiving touchdowns from a combination of quarterbacks Wyatt Rodriguez and Joey Tarango.
The Tiger defense is also strength for the team this, with nearly 30 sacks to its name, five players totaling 30 tackles or more including team-leading Diego Hernandez with 61.
Hart is one of those players with more than 30 tackles on the season and recognized the task at hand on Friday night.
“We’re taking it one step at a time and going through every single thing that we can and learning everything that they’re running,” Hart said. “We need to come out here and execute. We need to be more physical and we need to pressure the quarterback.”
Southwest High
Perhaps more so than the past few years, the Eagles are more than ready and excited to take the field against Imperial High on Friday night.
“I can say that we’re pumped up, especially because we lost to them last year and we feel confident coming in at 7-0 against them,” said Eagle senior Israel Zermeño. “We feel that we can stop them this year. We’re a lot older than we are compared to last year and our defense is stronger this year and so is our offense.”
While the Eagles do indeed have a more senior team, it’s still the same group of hungry players that have helped Southwest to consecutive winnings seasons since 2015.
As noted many times before, the Eagles’ strength lies in its offense with senior running back and receiver Tyler Saikhon and senior quarterback Cameron Jungers.
Jungers also has other offense weapons such as receivers Ryan Silva, Grant Hansink and Reece Quintero.
Yet just as notable as its offense is Southwest’s defense this season, which Saikhon and Jungers also contribute to.
The pair have a combined five interceptions, while Zermeño is one of the team’s leading tacklers this season with 89 so far.
“Last year we struggled with their running game because their linemen were stronger than ours on both sides, but ours is a lot better now, so we feel that we have a much better chance this year,” Zermeño said. “We’re not underestimating them. We know they’re a good team and we need to play hard against them.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Imperial High’s Shimamoto-Simpson Stadium. Watch the game live at ivpressonline.com